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Poynton Updates and News (PUN): 10/01/13

NEW

Happy New Year!

The Town Council would like to wish all Poynton residents and visitors a happy and healthy 2013.

Roadworks on London Road South

United Utilities were due to carry out a scheduled repair to the main sewer on London Road South , in the vicinity of its junction with Clifford Road . In order to prevent flooding to some properties they had to bring this forward and start the repair immediately, at the start of last week. Having made a series of excavations, United Utilities are currently waiting for National Grid Transco to attend, given the presence of a gas main in close proximity to the area they need to work on.

To try to ease traffic congestion caused by the initial three-way signals, United Utilities were instructed to remove these, and close the exit from Clifford Road onto London Road South , leaving two-way signals on the A523. Hopefully, this should help alleviate the disruption whilst the works are ongoing. United Utilities have also undertaken to man the temporary traffic lights at peak times. We will keep you updated.

Roadworks in Local Area

Cheshire East Council is programmed to start work today, Monday 14th January at the junction of Skellorn Green and Street Lane. This is to excavate the line for a new kerb, ahead of surfacing works. Traffic will be managed by temporary lights or stop/go boards

Town Council Precept for 2013/14

Every year the Town Council raises a precept in order to pay for the range of services it provides Poynton’s residents. In 2013/14 this will amount to around £1 a week for an average Band D household, an increase of 12p a week over the current precept.

In addition to the range of services already provided, the increased precept will include payment for a fifth PCSO (see item below), provide funding for a Woodford Neighbourhood Plan (in conjunction with Adlington and Woodford Councils, to try to influence the nature and scale of development at the ex-BAE Systems site), provide a full-time Operations Manager (who also has a remit to work with Poynton business to boost Poynton’s visitor economy), fund the maintenance of an updated and much improved Town Council website, and provide a budget for tree management on both Inclines.

There will be further news about the precept in future editions of the PUN, as well as on the Town Council website and in the Poynton Post.

Welcome to our new PCSOs

We would like to offer a warm welcome to two new PCSOs to Poynton, Stephen Davenport and Leanne Kieran-Jones, who join their existing PCSO colleagues Chris Luke and Melissa Mellor. Funding was also agreed last year for a fifth PCSO, who will join us from April.

On The Buses!

Following the Cheshire East retendering of bus services late last year, and the timely and persistent efforts of Cheshire East and Poynton Town Councillors Jos Saunders and Howard Murray, there is now a clearer picture of how Poynton will be served from early March. Not only will there be a joint 392/393 service connecting Stockport to Macclesfield via Poynton, Pott Shrigley, Bollington and Tytherington, but the good news is that there will also be a new east/west service called the P1, which will link up three stations - Middlewood, Poynton and Hazel Grove, while also serving Dickens Lane, Chester Road and Woodford Road. Details of the timetable for this hourly service will be made available shortly, once efforts to align this as far as possible with train services have concluded.

Poynton is now fortunate in having both a north/south and an east/west service. The new routes will enable more Poynton residents to connect with the lower GMPT fare structure in both Hazel Grove and Middlewood, as well as taking passengers to another link location on the A6. It is hoped that the connection to Poynton Station will be of interest to people who are travelling to Macclesfield and beyond by train.

Rapid Response Vehicle in Poynton

Following a series of meetings between the Town Council and the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) to review response times, a Rapid Response Vehicle (RRV) and a Registered Paramedic will be deployed on a daily basis from Poynton Fire Station with effect from today, Monday 14 January 2013. The vehicle will operate on a 12 hour daily basis from 07:00 – 19:00 and be staffed by a HCPC Registered Paramedic. This pilot scheme will be closely monitored to ensure it gets off to a successful start.

Meanwhile our two First Responders, Ken Woolley and Bill McCracken, have just qualified as Extended Community First Responders, and can now attend all emergency call-outs. Congratulations to them both, with thanks also for the wonderful service they provide to our community.

Poynton Home Services Scheme

Your Town Council, in partnership with Peaks and Plains, offers a range of fixed cost home services for residents, provided by local contractors and monitored by ourselves and Peaks and Plains. We work with contractors who offer the following services: gardening, decorating, maintenance, cleaning, electrical, joinery and home modifications for disabled or elderly residents. If you are a Poynton resident in need of these services, or a local contractor who could offer these or different services, please contact Erica Adkins, Acting Home Services Coordinator on 01625 872238 or e-mail her on erica.adkins@poyntontowncouncil.gov.uk to find out more.

Poynton Town Council Annual Business Awards

Nomination forms for this new award scheme are available from the Civic Hall, and are being distributed to businesses around the village. Nomination forms can also be accessed and completed via the Town Council’s website, so vote now for your favourite business! The deadline for nominations is Friday 8th February 2013. The awards will be presented at the Town Mayor’s Charity Ball in March.

Community Speedwatch

Cheshire Police are looking for volunteers to help with a Community Speed Watch scheme in the area of Middlewood Road . If you live in that vicinity, and would like more information, please contact your local officers on the email addresses below, or phone 0845 458 6371. Officers will also be on hand to discuss the scheme and answer questions at a drop-in at the Hockley Centre, Park Lane , on Thursday 31st January between 1pm and 3pm in the Bistro.

REMINDERS/DIARY DATES

A6 to Manchester Airport Relief Road Consultation

The Town Council met last month to decide on its response to this public consultation. The key point is that the Council is not in favour of the new road unless it includes a Woodford/Poynton Relief Road . In terms of its preferences for the key junctions, the Town Council favours roundabouts rather than light-controlled junctions, and prefers Option 1 for all Locations, especially for Location 6 (Macclesfield Road, Hazel Grove), which will have the most impact on Poynton.

The first phase of public consultation on the A6 to Manchester Airport Relief Road continues until 25th January 2013. You can respond online at www.semmms.info, by e-mail to semmms.relief.road@stockport.gov.uk, by post to: SEMMMS Project Team, Stockport Council, Stopford House, Stockport SK1 3YQ, or phone 0161 474 2055 for more information. The Town Council would urge you to respond, and make your views known.

Winter Maintenance at Poynton Park

The Town Council received the following information from the Cheshire East Countryside Range Service last month:

“We will be continuing with the removal of 2 lime trees by the field gate entrance from South Park Drive . They will be removed with other lime trees over the next few years and on an annual basis in winter. The management of thinning selective trees has a wide range of benefits for habitats, wildlife and the tree itself. Without the management a great deal of biodiversity will be lost and the shade created will result in weak, poor specimens as the trees compete for light. With this management the remaining lime trees will grow to become our ancient trees of the future. We will hire a chipper for the day to remove the brash.

The fenced area near the pool will be coppiced; this is last of the 5 compartments. This work is planned for January/February. Following this work the compartments will be coppiced on a 10 year rotation.

Selective trees will be removed alongside the Public Right of Way for access and safety reasons. This work will start at the southern end and will continue to the narrow part of the pool”.

Parking on Park Lane

There are still regular instances of illegal parking on Park Lane . There is a parking ban on Park Lane, with the only exceptions being parking on private forecourts (with the owner’s/tenant’s permission) and loading/unloading in the designated bays (outlined by studs), but not at peak times between 8am and 10am, and 4pm and 6pm. Penalties will be issued for those who disregard the ban. Meanwhile residents and visitors will be pleased to learn that the Co-op has partially lifted restrictions on its private car park off Park Lane , permitting free parking between 7pm and midnight daily. Daytime restrictions, limiting parking to one and a half hours, remain, and will be enforced by the Co-op.

Join our Campaign for Superfast Broadband (SfB) now!

Although current broadband speeds in Poynton are acceptable for some, they are not for others. Fast broadband is now accepted as a fourth utility service and a factor for people when moving home. In addition the Government is encouraging more services to be delivered ‘digitally by default’ which will result in more services being accessible solely online, which in turn is likely to necessitate a faster broadband service.

Connecting Cheshire aims to bring Superfast Broadband (SfB) to communities across Cheshire . They believe investment in SfB is the single greatest strategic opportunity to drive economic growth and improve the quality of life for residents this decade.

We need to ensure the whole of Poynton has access to SfB as soon as possible, and this is best done by the whole community working together to force change.

Rainow have already done this. After concerted community action from more than 600 local residents, BT switched-on the village to broadband speeds over 100 times faster than were previously available in October 2012. We need to follow Rainow's example, and there are 3 things you can do:

1, Register your demand for SfB. The more evidence we can show there a real demand in Poynton, the quicker we can bring it to the area. At the same time, check out the Connecting Cheshire website which has a lot more background and relevant information.

2, If you are interested in participating as part of a community group to campaign for SfB for Poynton, please email your interest to superfastpoynton@gmail.com

3, In addition, we need to help all Poynton residents, regardless of age and location, to both have access to the internet and be competent to use it! If you are interested in helping with this initiative, please also email: superfastpoynton@gmail.com

Should there be sufficient interest, a Poynton Digital Champion will be appointed to head this initiative. This voluntary role will coordinate activity amongst the Council and residents.

Regular updates will be provided through the PUN. If you don't have cable, and want SfB, please do your bit to get Poynton the broadband speeds it deserves.

Christmas Tree Recycling and Green Bins

For advice on recycling Christmas trees please access the Cheshire East website www.cheshireeast.gov.uk (click on ‘Waste and Recycling’ from the left hand menu). If you have any queries about this please call T. 0300123 5011. You should also note that there will be no green bin collection between 17th December 2012 and 25th January 2013.

Highway Lighting

Residents will be aware that certain sections of the highway in and around Poynton, including a long section of London Road North , are no longer lit at night. This is a Cheshire East initiative of which the Town Council was given no advance notice. An early result of the Town Council’s intervention has been agreement by Cheshire East to at least turn the lights back on around the Anglesey Drive/London Road North junction, as well as those covering a bend on the other side of London Road North, where there are a handful of houses. We will keep residents informed of any further progress.

The Poynton Update and News (PUN)

A reminder that hard copies of this PUN are available on demand from the Civic Hall for those of our residents without access to PCs – please spread the word! A version of the PUN is also published in ‘SK Poynton’ magazine.